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Chairman's Report Newsletter No. 71 – May 2011 Price £1.00 (Free to members) Chairman’s Report In this Issue: Bob Flanagan • Norwood’s A serious problem is looming. On the one hand the Man- Greek Necro- agement Advisory Group and the Scheme of Manage- polis Page 3 ment Committee (SoMC), in conjunction with Council officers, have been husbanding resources from the • Charles Bayer & Council capital grant for several years in order to re- Family Page 4 surface the entrance area and replace the drains that have • Robert F. Fairlie collapsed. On the other, the Council have been under- - Railway standably looking to save money, but have seemingly ‘reassigned’ a substantial part of the accrued monies as Engineer Page 5 well as this year’s grant without consultation. This means • J.A.R. Newlands: that the planned roadway refurbishment cannot go ahead. The Law of In turn the SoMC has taken the decision to close the Octaves Page 7 cemetery to vehicles from 2 June on Health and Safety grounds. Of course this means an end to cremations and • Henry & Minnie burials in existing graves and loss of income therefrom Dale Page 9 (some £300,000 p.a.) until the repairs can be completed. • Let us hope that a way forward can be found without Paul Chappuis: such drastic action being necessary. Light into Dark Conservation News Places Page 11 On other fronts there is good news. Firstly it has been • The Story of Sir agreed that FOWNC and the Council can work together August Manns to raise funds for monument conservation/restoration. Page 12 This has been a long-cherished aim on my part, and I’m • Recent FOWNC hopeful that it ushers in a new era whereby the long-term future of the cemetery will become the predominant Page 13 Events consideration in all dealings related thereto. It has also • Forthcoming been agreed that I will take on the task of the redrafting Events Page 14 the contentious parts of the draft Scheme of Management • in an attempt to steer a way though the complex legal and A Bit of Mystery financial issues that face us. However, I’m confident that Page 16 a sensible approach acceptable to all parties can be found. Be all this as it may, there are still outstanding issues such as the repair to the (Grade 2 listed) Gilbart railings and the demolished monument in front of the Crematorium (see Newsletters passim) that remain to be tackled. And a rehabilitation plan for the Catacombs will need to be in place before the planning permission for the temporary protective roof expires. Catacomb Tours/Scrub Clearance Our members-only catacomb tours have proved very popular. If you would like to book a place for the 10:30 tour on the 18 June please contact Jill Dudman (details p. 16). If there is still further demand, further tours will be scheduled. Ellen Barbet ([email protected], 020 8650 0766 or mobile 07729 166 080) has taken over the organization of our scrub clearance efforts and she and her team have been making inroads in the scrub alongside Ship Path. Many thanks indeed to Ellen and her helpers for undertaking this vital work. I’m sure new discoveries (notables as well as monuments) will ensue in time. On other fronts, the known colonies of Japanese Knotweed are being tackled by contra- ctors City Suburban. In addition, the offenders’ group has done excellent work on the undergrowth near the Greek necropolis, and hopefully can soon begin to focus on other areas such as Ship Path. London’s Cemeteries: Fit for the 21st Century? A one-day seminar held under the auspices of English Heritage (EH) took place on 17 March at the City of London Cemetery. The event was chaired by Roger Bowdler (EH), and introduced by Philip Everett, Director of Environmental Services, City of London. Speakers included: Dr Julie Rugg (University of York Cemetery Research Group), and Julie Dunk (Institute of Cemetery and Crematorium Management, and of Lambeth!): it was good to see the ‘two Julies’ back in harness! The sensitive issue of re-use of burial grounds was discussed by Gary Burks, City of London Cemetery, who also led a tour to see ‘re-use in action’. The Role of EH in cemetery protection was addressed by Jenifer White, Senior Landscape Adviser, and Dr Jane Sidell, Inspector of Ancient Monuments, and finally Drew Bennellick, Head of Landscape, Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), discussed current HLF funding initiatives. Essentially there has been a change of heart all round, and historic cemeteries are now the subject of concern and veneration, rather than an embarrassment to their owners! The seminar struck a sensible balance between conservation and sustainability, and explored the topics of grave and monument re-use, cemetery funding, monument and infrastructure repairs, and cemetery conservation management plans in a positive way. Gone are the days when cemetery managers thought they could simply do as they liked! Indeed, it was very clear that simply looking at burial/cremation income alone was outdated, and I found it supremely ironic that the presence of historic monuments in a historic landscape was now looked upon as an asset as regards the possibility of HLF and other funding, rather than a hindrance to cemetery operations as has been the traditional attitude ‘on the ground’. Be this as it may, I was not so keen to see re-used headstones ‘back-to-front’ with the original inscription uncared for. I’m sure we could try to commemorate the old as well as the new at Norwood given the chance. - 2 - West Norwood Cemetery’s Greek Necropolis by Colin R Fenn and James Slattery-Kavanagh (FOWNC, 2011. £2.50) Review – Bob Flanagan The Greek Necropolis has always presented a problem for those of us not blessed with a classical education since the monumental inscriptions are often written in Greek. Even English Heritage were confused as to the identity of one listed tomb with the result that we have gained an extra listed monument by default as it were (there are now 19 that are listed Grade II or II*)! Congratulations to Colin and James then for not only producing this clear and concise guide to many, but by no means all, of the notable monuments in the Greek section, but also in giving much background information as to the history of the necropolis itself and of the Greek comm- unity that created it. The guide takes the form of a folded A2 sheet. On one side there is a perspective plan of the enclosure on which the locations of the monu- ments featured are marked clearly. Brief des- criptions of the monuments surround the plan. This is especially valuable as monument ident- ification is much simplified. The histories of the Greek community in London that created the necropolis and of the necropolis itself are detailed on the obverse together with a brief history of ‘Zeus’, Pantia Stephen Ralli (1793– 1865) and other members of the Ralli family. I am sure that the availability of this guide will serve to further inspire members of the Greek community in London and others who come to gaze at this outstanding collection of funerary monuments to help care for this ‘Jewel in the Norwood Crown’. Although some scrub has been cleared from the boundaries of the enclosure, much remains to be done. The boundary railings are in serious need of repair, St Stephen’s Chapel (the Ralli Chapel) has a badly leaking roof, and the damage caused to some 20 monuments by van- dals 12 years or so ago remains unaddressed. Now that Colin and James have this guide under their belts, they are working on a sister publication that concentrates on the listed memorials outwith the Greek section. - 3 - Charles Bayer (c.1846–1930) and Family Bob Flanagan Conservationist Ron Knee has provided information on the mausoleum featured in A Bit of Mystery in January 2010. It was built by Charles Bayer in 1909. Norah and Otter Bayer were removed from a public vault and interred there later that year. Other interments were Charles’ wife Fanny Friend Bayer (1910), Charles Bayer (1930), and Herbert Bayer (1948). The final interment was of Sir Horace Malcolm Bayer, Knight Sheriff of London- derry 1915-24, who died at Southwood, 54 Silverdale, Sydenham on 11 March 1965. In an adjacent grave lie Beryl Adair Bayer (1911/2–1936), who died in a car accident near St. Nicholas at Wade, Kent, and Lady Rebecca Florence (Dollie) Bayer née Adair (1877/8–1966), daughter and wife, respectively, of Sir Horace. In 1970 all the coffins from the mausoleum were moved to Catacomb 20 beneath the site of the Episcopal Chapel1 and Bayer Mausoleum (grave 32,171, square 80) and family grave the mausoleum was (grave 38,733, square 80) sold on the 1 April 1970 to Mrs. Dagmar Linderholm, who is now interred within. The current owner is her granddaughter, Vlasta, who lives in Italy and visits once a year in September. Over the last few years various capital works have taken place: in 2010 all the marble joints of the roof were repointed. Charles Bayer himself was a corset manufacturer. It was claimed that ‘CB’ corsets were ‘as easy fitting as a perfectly cut kid glove, with a complete absence of pressure upon the respiratory organs’. Prices ranged from 10/6 to three guineas and he claimed to use ‘the daintiest French fabrics, both plain and fancy’. One advertisement mentions ‘coutille, 1 Propped up on one of the coffins is a memorial plaque to Edmund Hugh Craft Theobald, Pilot Officer (Pilot) Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, No: 67716, 30 Sqdn.
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